What is the latest figure for South Korea Building Permits, Housing Starts & Unsold Apartments (Monthly)?

Building Permits Floor Area: Total stood at 9,169,143.94 Sq. Meters in Aug 2026. That is −12.9% from Jul 2026 and +13.3% from a year earlier.

South Korea Building Permits, Housing Starts & Unsold Apartments (Monthly)

Name: South Korea Building Permits, Housing Starts & Unsold Apartments (Monthly)
Creator: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT / 국토교통부)
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Monthly Building Construction Permits and Construction Starts Floor Area (Sq. Meters by Use: Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Educational/Social), Housing Construction Permits (Units), and Unsold New Housing Inventory (Units across Nationwide, Capital Region, Seoul, Gyeonggi, Busan, Daegu) compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT).

Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT / 국토교통부)Last updated: Oct 19, 2026, 16:43 UTCCurated by Bui Thanh Phuc

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Indicator	08-2026	07-2026	06-2026	05-2026	04-2026	03-2026	02-2026	01-2026	12-2025	11-2025	10-2025	09-2025	08-2025	07-2025	06-2025	05-2025	04-2025	03-2025	02-2025	01-2025	12-2024	11-2024	10-2024	09-2024	08-2024	07-2024	06-2024	05-2024	04-2024	03-2024	02-2024	01-2024	12-2023	11-2023	10-2023	09-2023	08-2023
Building Permits Floor Area by Use (Sq. Meters)1
Building Permits Floor Area: Total4	9,169,143.94	10,527,095.34	8,985,760.67	7,020,686.7	9,129,092.84	9,304,809.09	5,958,994.57	7,165,106.31	14,195,003.99	11,114,612.06	8,987,967.65	13,492,880.41	8,089,639.58	7,218,617.74	9,588,754.66	7,860,041.75	9,846,193.77	10,095,808.87	7,033,139.21	7,299,200.52	16,788,791.38	10,231,951.9	9,263,552.72	9,285,781.7	11,120,101.53	8,705,519.58	9,131,198.98	9,209,223.55	10,857,887.3	10,624,343.17	9,124,629.92	11,033,960.82	13,528,053.08	11,022,887.53	8,202,781.08	9,302,916.07	12,594,255.16
Building Permits: Residential (Dwellings)	2,815,520.41	4,098,560.48	2,843,588	2,337,735.18	3,250,123.2	2,268,960.03	1,775,164.26	2,108,925.78	5,818,035.66	4,633,906.75	3,502,836.67	5,993,239.86	2,124,512.95	1,829,061.19	3,221,590.69	2,582,174.22	3,195,670.82	3,602,318.44	2,226,978.46	2,706,245.33	7,274,176.08	4,047,753.57	2,950,022.7	2,303,418.48	3,506,727.61	2,837,231.97	2,897,432.95	3,333,422.3	3,552,153.82	4,127,192.78	3,293,055.1	3,629,698.05	4,525,900.99	3,632,484.8	2,541,232.87	2,787,725.22	4,789,322.49
Building Permits: Commercial	2,189,818.93	2,301,048.57	2,052,000.55	1,881,737.11	2,067,731.87	3,301,720.24	1,483,623.53	2,054,390.41	2,551,580.57	2,362,740.61	1,675,321.95	2,994,635.81	2,832,655.85	2,239,566.55	2,588,424.17	2,234,983.72	3,150,829.67	2,417,632.47	1,827,921.05	1,704,604.73	2,721,691.63	2,027,931.37	1,991,216.8	2,266,901.7	2,358,143.37	2,451,252.46	2,738,514.62	1,974,916.72	2,558,697.12	2,082,563.42	1,880,544.86	3,644,895.96	3,200,230.62	2,348,453.18	2,040,870.13	2,142,255.27	2,948,629.21
Building Permits: Industrial (Factories)	945,394.1	1,071,450.85	735,425.95	945,121.99	1,241,418.69	1,459,226.03	982,842.11	867,290.4	1,061,599.69	1,042,177.51	800,069.28	985,550.92	984,425.55	1,086,619.65	1,377,963.5	895,524.31	1,055,217.93	909,856.46	849,984	791,512.94	1,250,280.89	1,172,294.2	842,963.74	2,267,623.65	2,363,466.65	1,155,326.47	940,263.49	1,523,602.95	1,089,985.81	1,063,112.87	1,101,267.75	961,691.8	1,261,291.81	1,363,197.15	1,379,716.11	1,008,701.72	1,468,328.5
Building Permits: Educational & Social	487,646.96	1,016,303.56	822,950.61	466,613	836,261.88	784,100.77	498,258.05	736,697.69	748,655.94	610,725.38	512,696.87	1,056,275.33	672,303.8	585,475.15	477,702.63	543,314.97	609,008.89	645,484.8	405,086.11	607,666.09	1,241,785.51	737,445.37	818,674.02	742,717.11	776,742.19	481,144.06	566,781.17	663,208.44	671,351.71	465,352.6	479,293.91	635,147.77	934,890.52	826,692.25	525,505.67	691,726.95	704,421.28
Building Construction Starts Floor Area (Sq. Meters)1
Construction Starts Floor Area: Total3	6,297,680.75	6,831,142.46	8,002,465.21	7,378,542.68	8,068,441.1	7,173,443.31	4,683,567.17	4,731,377.9	9,377,655.57	7,755,601.74	5,649,845.83	7,917,842.63	5,737,889.14	8,306,757.64	6,711,392.75	6,651,999.14	8,566,219.38	6,866,628.29	4,476,158.7	4,336,970.15	8,210,886.54	7,106,375.12	9,178,764.2	6,597,007.44	8,632,456.16	6,917,531.7	6,908,798.14	7,132,705.92	8,847,068.17	7,135,755.99	7,940,305.85	6,533,842.97	9,639,806.09	10,425,794.19	7,412,195.63	6,666,478.13	6,657,781.5
Construction Starts: Residential (Dwellings)	2,227,523.29	2,379,852.23	2,378,136.52	3,113,193.65	3,141,050.86	2,507,534.1	1,747,452.13	1,282,490.05	4,109,622.93	2,353,567.93	2,102,748.62	2,443,297.68	1,892,365.22	2,735,378.39	2,518,538.92	2,021,993.47	2,908,251.41	1,537,756.03	1,029,745.66	1,263,861.73	3,097,702.18	2,477,143.47	2,370,313.4	2,838,596.15	3,475,169.17	2,100,625.42	2,437,179.19	2,352,265.67	3,325,250.88	2,983,305.55	3,560,670.6	2,488,073.03	4,616,958.32	4,837,442.49	2,842,019.05	2,469,424.22	1,756,975.51
Construction Starts: Commercial	1,211,688.2	1,657,556.94	2,282,408.75	1,722,445.69	1,565,304.77	1,443,395.36	900,311.57	1,202,008.27	1,780,988.1	1,551,043.55	1,307,242.3	1,522,063.95	1,184,825.77	2,322,635.76	1,640,869.5	1,819,902.12	1,579,660.15	2,000,635.02	1,253,069.49	797,934.32	1,203,925.25	1,489,689.98	1,220,948.47	1,262,831.82	1,362,040.42	1,380,604	1,085,357.24	1,790,966.03	1,849,349.96	1,325,777.29	1,081,713.83	1,506,801.96	1,350,526.82	1,596,796.28	1,339,416.09	1,330,395.39	1,680,133.1
Construction Starts: Industrial (Factories)	808,856.36	1,020,360.99	967,011.5	959,456.46	1,028,791.04	1,309,306.13	544,603.82	833,750.19	795,558.54	1,020,025.07	568,338.32	1,357,380.16	798,837.87	1,027,614.93	599,160.68	790,091.07	802,653.16	1,582,075.02	722,181.16	720,498.16	998,495.5	821,646.08	3,722,870.03	887,835.87	780,972.71	801,964.18	1,000,628.4	940,769.92	1,114,753.8	1,127,300.66	902,131.49	807,205.74	740,280.28	1,084,716.4	1,096,854.63	1,237,375.91	1,210,203.3
Housing Construction Permits (Dwelling Units)1
Housing Construction Permits: Nationwide Total4	163,935	142,328	116,611	98,694	79,371	50,129	30,799	16,531	388,362	279,884	246,659	219,322	171,811	154,608	138,401	110,553	90,084	67,153	34,788	22,393	435,234	275,789	244,512	219,134	199,008	170,422	150,051	125,112	102,003	74,481	48,969	25,684	425,634	327,367	298,972	278,749	252,262
Housing Permits: Public Sector	15,115	13,705	10,943	10,287	9,472	4,716	4,415	2,593	112,972	34,506	30,095	23,462	15,849	15,608	15,219	7,163	6,052	4,995	2,187	462	131,017	10,048	6,973	6,924	4,921	4,883	3,858	3,785	3,528	998	872	493	79,758	14,231	13,075	11,769	10,985
Housing Permits: Private Sector	148,820	128,623	105,668	88,407	69,899	45,413	26,384	13,938	275,390	245,378	216,564	195,860	155,962	139,000	123,182	103,390	84,032	62,158	32,601	21,931	304,217	265,741	237,539	212,210	194,087	165,539	146,193	121,327	98,475	73,483	48,097	25,191	345,876	313,136	285,897	266,980	241,277
Housing Permits: Seoul	39,940	28,634	20,655	19,052	12,760	5,632	3,817	1,226	41,938	38,776	35,258	33,283	28,441	26,836	22,761	19,317	16,736	14,930	7,699	2,878	51,452	33,011	26,452	23,500	21,670	15,767	13,538	10,523	7,184	6,545	4,978	2,475	39,163	34,600	27,731	23,884	23,511
Housing Permits: Gyeonggi	46,060	42,760	39,493	30,980	24,932	18,361	12,782	7,315	159,966	85,357	71,643	61,963	49,118	46,108	41,313	31,805	27,220	21,596	12,639	10,998	161,203	67,903	61,525	56,868	53,593	45,412	39,937	33,855	29,325	21,221	12,555	6,188	134,659	83,949	75,728	72,870	63,055
Unsold New Housing Inventory by Region (Units)1
Unsold New Housing Units: Nationwide Total6	69,134	68,217	67,464	65,239	65,179	65,283	66,208	66,576	66,510	68,794	69,069	66,762	66,613	62,244	63,734	66,678	67,793	68,920	70,061	72,624	70,173	65,146	65,836	66,776	67,550	71,822	74,037	72,129	71,997	64,964	64,874	63,755	62,489	57,925	58,299	59,806	61,811
Unsold New Housing Units: Seoul Metropolitan Area	19,136	19,459	18,770	18,601	17,298	18,612	17,829	17,881	15,883	16,535	17,551	15,351	14,631	13,283	13,939	15,306	15,905	16,528	17,600	19,748	16,997	14,494	13,948	13,898	12,616	13,989	15,051	14,761	14,655	11,977	11,956	10,160	10,031	6,998	7,327	7,672	7,676
Unsold New Housing Units: Seoul	898	994	1,013	985	995	1,028	1,132	914	939	1,037	1,056	1,088	1,106	1,033	1,021	989	943	942	1,002	1,352	957	931	917	969	946	953	959	974	936	968	1,018	997	958	877	908	914	976
Unsold New Housing Units: Gyeonggi	14,509	14,394	13,553	13,042	12,205	13,309	12,879	12,980	13,017	13,491	14,585	12,656	11,857	10,513	11,093	12,155	12,941	13,527	13,950	15,135	12,954	10,521	9,771	9,521	9,567	10,187	9,956	8,876	9,459	8,340	8,095	6,069	5,803	4,823	4,726	4,971	5,401
Unsold New Housing Units: Incheon	3,729	4,071	4,204	4,574	4,098	4,275	3,818	3,987	1,927	2,007	1,910	1,607	1,668	1,737	1,825	2,162	2,021	2,059	2,648	3,261	3,086	3,042	3,260	3,408	2,103	2,849	4,136	4,911	4,260	2,669	2,843	3,094	3,270	1,298	1,693	1,787	1,299
Unsold New Housing Units: Busan	7,594	8,379	8,071	8,292	8,654	7,224	7,236	7,584	7,541	7,727	8,040	7,316	7,146	5,573	5,375	5,420	4,709	4,489	4,565	4,526	4,720	4,900	5,038	4,871	5,652	5,862	5,205	5,496	4,566	3,222	3,149	3,372	2,997	2,534	2,277	2,235	2,327
Unsold New Housing Units: Daegu	4,162	4,278	4,383	4,298	4,820	4,996	5,256	5,432	5,962	7,218	7,568	8,537	8,762	8,977	8,995	8,586	9,065	9,177	9,051	8,742	8,807	8,175	8,506	8,864	9,410	10,070	9,738	9,533	9,667	9,814	9,927	10,124	10,245	10,328	10,376	10,501	10,779

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The series on this page is monthly and runs from Jan 2013 to Aug 2026.

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What is the latest figure for South Korea Building Permits, Housing Starts & Unsold Apartments (Monthly)?: Building Permits Floor Area: Total stood at 9,169,143.94 Sq. Meters in Aug 2026. That is −12.9% from Jul 2026 and +13.3% from a year earlier.
How far back does the South Korea Building Permits, Housing Starts & Unsold Apartments (Monthly) data go?: The series on this page is monthly and runs from Jan 2013 to Aug 2026. Every series in the table can be charted over its full history and downloaded as CSV or Excel.